Your guide to dealing with cyberbullies and trolls

The Internet has provided access to a bright world of knowledge and opportunities for parents, teachers and youth, yet it also contained a dark side where the ongoing clashes and controversies have moved from the virtual world of Twitter wars, mean Instagram and Facebook posts to the real world. According to statistics, more than 18% of children and adolescents around the world have been exposed to cyberbullying, which as a result has negatively affected their academic level and studies.

When it comes to cyberbullying, it is far worse than bullying in reality, as those who are exposed to it often feel alone, even if they’re around their family and friends.

The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology also stated that 38% of those who are exposed to cyberbullying do not tell their families or friends about their exposure, 18% of those have negative thoughts, while 43% of people do not find the right words and methods to support those who are exposed to cyberbullying. Moreover, 51% believe that cyberbullying is worse than public bullying.

There have been multiple efforts in the Kingdom to combat cyberbullying through various initiatives and awareness campaigns such as "Teach and rest" by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and "Hemaya" by the Saudi Information Security Group which seeks to raise awareness and education in the field of information security and youth protection to prevent these cybercrimes.

If you or anyone you know got exposed to cyberbullying and harm, these following steps are useful to guide you through the process of dealing with it rightly:

• Do not respond or retaliate, sometimes the best response is no response at all. Cyberbullies thrive on reactions they receive from their victims, so don't give them what they want.

• Block them: If you are being bullied online, your first step should be to block the bully. Robbing the cyberbully of their target can be enough sometimes to get them to stop. 

• Save the evidence: document the situation and save as much evidence as you can. Screenshot the evidence and save them in a safe place.Print out and keep hard copies along with the digital evidence just in case. 

• Report cyberbullying:  this can be to your school or university. You can also submit any cyberbullying crimes to the authorities through the Saudi police declaration app “Kollona Amn” or through the official portal "Absher" from the Ministry of Interior.

Lastly, anyone can be subject to cyberbullying, remember that you can easily prevent and recover from the occurrence of cyberbullying with the right steps and guidance.